The Cry: La Llorona

Think of Bernadine Santistevan’s The Cry as The Eye with a Spanish accent, and you’ve got an idea of what’s going on in this electrically charged supernatural horror-thriller. Although the legend is new to us, director Santistevan says in a featurette (illustrated with stills) that she grew up fearful of “La Llorona,” the woman who drowned her own child 500 years ago and still punishes children who stray—she’s a sort of female Boogeyman. In this telling of the tale, a New York City detective (Christian Camargo) tries to solve a series of child murders—some by their mothers—while dealing with the fact that his wife drowned their own child years earlier. The fusion of Asian horror elements with Spanish superstitions works for the most part, but the intensity is diminished by slack moments of exposition. Several children are in peril here, and some die ghastly, post-modern-edited deaths, which isn’t something everyone will be comfortable with.

Shelf Talk: After playing in 40 theatrical markets this summer, The Cry will be promoted on DVD across several genres—horror, crime, thriller, Spanish—with targeted publicity from Rue Morgue to Latina to Univision. The trailer will be posted to YouTube, Facebook and Fangoria, and the studio says to expect a combined 80 million impressions. Camargo is probably the most recognizable cast member (and that’s only to people who watch Showtime’s Dexter), and he barely edges out Carlos Leon, who sired Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes.